2004 Brickyard 400
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| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 36 in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
 2004 Brickyard 400 program cover | |||
| Date | August 8, 2004 | ||
| Official name | Brickyard 400 | ||
| Location | Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 161 laps, 402.5 mi (647.761 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.738 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures approaching 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 115.037 miles per hour (185.134 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||
| Time | 48.311 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 124 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Benny Parsons | ||
The 2004 Brickyard 400, the 11th running of the event, was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on August 8, 2004, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested at 161 laps – extended from 160 laps due to a green–white–checkered finish – on the 2.5-mile (4.0-kilometre) speedway, it was the 21st race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 miles (4.0 kilometres) long. The track's turns are banked at 9 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a zero degree banking. The racetrack has seats for more than 250,000 spectators.
Summary
For the first time in Nextel Cup Series history, the green–white–checkered finish rule caused a race to be extended, in this case for one additional lap. On the extra lap, Casey Mears blew a tire, Ricky Rudd hit the wall, then Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered tire failures. Jeff Gordon retained the lead to become the first four-time winner of the Brickyard.